October 2002
GRADUATION 2002
A total of 146
students majoring in Psychology were awarded Baccalaureate degrees at
the 2002 WSC Commencement in May. Of these 100 formally earned their
degree in May while the remainder had completed their programs the
previous August or December.
Six Psychology
majors: Kenneth Caron, Paul Gagnon, Lynda Kelly, Suzanne Robertson, Nina
Sweares, and Valerie Wright, graduated summa cum laude (3.9-4.0
QPA). Eleven more graduated magna cum laude (3.7-3.89) and 12
graduated cum laude (3.5-3.69). Eleven Psychology majors were
listed in Who’s Who among Students in American Universities and
Colleges.
OPEN HOUSE
The last day
to declare or change your major or minor for the spring semester is
October 16. Do you have questions about the Psychology major? Want to
know about requirements, career opportunities? Faculty will be glad to
give you answers. Stop by the Psychology Office Oct. 15 (10-11am and
1-3pm) or Oct. 16 (10:30am-1pm)
SENIORS!!!!!
If you plan
to graduate in May you must submit your Intent to Graduate form to the
Registrar’s Office by the end of December. It is a good idea to submit
your Intent form as soon as possible. This form leads to a review of
your transcript so that problems meeting graduation requirements are
identified. A review now may reveal the problems before you register for
the spring semester.
Seniors should
open a Placement File with the Career Development Center in the Student
Center. This will hold your letters of recommendation and other papers
for the future.
COMPUTER LAB
Students are
encouraged to use the computer lab in A-104A. The lab is open Monday
through Friday 8:00-4:00. The machines are equipped with word processing
and statistical programs. There are two lab assistants available to help
you. Their hours are posted on the bulletin board outside of the lab.
NEW FACULTY
Dr. Amy
Cota-McKinley earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from The
University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, her master’s degree in Applied
Psychology from Jacksonville State University in Alabama, and her
doctorate in Social Psychology in 1999 from Colorado State University at
Fort Collins. After graduation, she spent the last three years as a
visiting professor at The University of Tennessee teaching courses on
General Psychology, Social Psychology, Research Methods, and
Environmental Psychology.
Dr.
Cota-McKinley’s research area is Visitor Studies, which encompasses
audience research, exhibit and program evaluation, and visitor services
within informal learning environments such as museums and zoos.
Throughout the course of her graduate studies, she has gained extensive
experience working in the public sector and maintaining professional
working relationships within the community including partnerships with
the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the
Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Fort Collins Museum, the Allen
County Historical Society, the McClung Museum, and the El Camino Real
International Heritage Center.
As a doctoral candidate at Colorado State University, she actively
continued her visitor research by developing a new and unique method of
exhibit evaluation. Dr. Cota-McKinley’s dissertation concentrated upon
the visitor experience of museum fatigue from a workload standpoint by
adapting the NASA-TLX weighted workload scale for museum use. Her
research investigated the applicability of workload measures in museum
settings; specifically, how exhibit size and time constraints effect
workload measures and memory. Her results provide insight on workload
experienced in museum environments and suggest a new evaluation approach
to interpretation within exhibits.
Beyond her
continuing research in Visitor Studies, she is also researching the
topic of vengeance. This is a relatively new area of study in the field
of Social Psychology with great potential for expansion. Her initial
study, recently published in Aggressive Behavior, examined a
person's tendency to seek revenge against a perceived injustice when
faced with different vengeance scenarios. She is working on several
independent studies investigating vengeance and the “Culture of Honor”
and the dynamics between jealousy and vengeance.
Dr.
Cota-McKinley looks forward to continuing her career pursuits at
Worcester State College where she is committed to being an effective
teacher and advisor. Outside of her work interests, she loves to cook
(especially desserts), quilt, downhill ski, hike, mountain bike, and
travel. She and her husband Steve have two cats, Molly and Hobbes. She
invites you to stop by her office located in A-103 and introduce
yourselves.
ON-LINE
RESOURCES
The WSC
Library databases are on-line. These resources can help you search for
books and journal articles for term papers and other assignments in
Psychology courses. You can access the databases from home if you have a
bar sticker for the library on the back of your college ID. Once you
have the bar code, go to the WSC home page and find the select the
database you wish to explore. At this point you need to enter your
password (the number on the bar code). You can then conduct your search
of the literature. PsychInfo is a comprehensive collection of
information in Psychology. PsycLit permits you to examine abstracts of
articles published in Psychology journals and chapter listings of books.
Additional databases include CINAHL (nursing, allied health & health
sciences), MEDLINE (medicine, psychiatry), Eric (education). Medline is
also available free of charge on the internet at: www.nlm.nih.gov
PUBLICATION & PRESENTATIONS
Dr. Bonnie Kanner has
just published the article "The cultural framing of
conceptions of development" in the journal Psychology and Developing
Societies (Volume14:1, 2002).
Dr. Pearl Mosher-Ashley and recent WSC graduate, Audrey Kemp, will
present a paper ENtitled “The Influence of Spirituality on Coping
With Life in Long-Term Care” at the
Gerontological Society of America conference in Boston,
MA in November. The paper is
based on a project carried out by Ms. Kemp in the Advanced Experimental
Psychology course at WSC.
GRAD
SCHOOL REMINDERS
Seniors who
are planning to go to graduate school next year should already have
investigated their alternatives and requested applications from the
schools. Watch deadlines carefully and remember that deadlines for
financial aid are often earlier than deadlines for admission.
Juniors should use this year for investigation and planning.
Visit the schools you like, both to gather
information and to increase the chance they will pay serious attention
to your application.
Tailor your application to the individual
school. Try to mention specific professors you would like to work with
(and their areas of research). Don’t use on-line applications. The
graduate schools tell us they do not get as much attention.
Prepare for and take the GRE General Test.
Pick up the three-part guide to getting into
graduate school available at the Psychology Office and read IT. Watch
our bulletin boards for information on graduate study and for
announcements of meetings on preparing for and applying to graduate
school.
PSYCHOLOGY
WEB PAGE
The department web
pages are available from http://wwwfac.worcester.edu/psychology.
WANTED: AMBITIOUS STUDENTS
Psychology
and allied health majors who would like to present a paper at a
professional conference are encouraged to consider the Psychology of
Aging course offered in the spring semester. This course, taught by Dr.
Mosher-Ashley, features a writing project that can lead to professional
presentations. Seven students had projects that were developed in the
course accepted for presentation at the joint conference of the American
Society on Aging and National Council on Aging in Denver last March.
ALUMNI NEWS
Linda Kelly
(2002) was accepted to the Masters program in Education at Clark
(Program with Professional Licensure.)
Bonnie Prizio
(2002) has been accepted into the Master’s Program in Marriage and
Family Counseling at Gordon Comwell seminary.
REMINDER
The last day
to make up Incomplete grades from Spring or Summer 2002 is October 17.
The last day to withdraw from a class is November 5.
NEPA
The Annual New
England Psychological Assn. conference will be held October 18-19 at
Rivier College in Nashua, NH. Student on-site registration is $15. This
conference is a wonderful opportunity to meet students from other
colleges and to choose among dozens of presentations, many of which are
designed for undergraduates. Presentation topics include: cognitive and
moral development in children, images of intimacy on TV, advertising,
and careers in psychology. A full program is available in the Psychology
Office.
INTERNSHIPS
Experience
in the field, whether through employment, internships or volunteer work,
is extremely valuable when applying for graduate school or job
positions. Internships allow you to get academic credit while gaining
experience.
Students
currently working in a position related to Psychology may qualify for
internship credit. The position must involve work duties that are
responsible in nature and relevant to the field. For example, filing
forms for an agency would not qualify. Students should check with Prof.
Guarini as to whether their jobs qualify for credit. Students will, of
course, be required to maintain a journal and complete other
requirements associated with the internship.
Students planning
to do an internship have a number of resources available to locate
placements. The Psychology office has a book of past internship
locations—many of these agencies still accept interns. The college
Career Services Center web site has a database of agencies that have
contacted the school about internship opportunities. The Psychology
bulletin boards often post internship openings. The United Way
publication “First Call”, which lists public service agencies, is
available in the Psychology Office and in the Counseling and Career
Center (Student Center). Most agencies welcome volunteers and many will
accept interns.
JOB OPENINGS
These are a
few of the jobs recently advertised in Central Massachusetts for which a
bachelor’s degree in Psychology would be appropriate preparation. Some
of them would also require experience or special skills such as a
foreign language.
Outreach and
residential counselors – provide support and teach daily living
skills to persons with mental illness, addictions, PTSD
Family coordinator
– case management with people with developmental disabilities and their
families
Family planning
counselor – sexual health counseling in clinic
Juvenile workers
– residential casework, advocacy, behavior management with adolescent
male offenders
Wilderness counselor
– team leader in innovative program at prep school for adolescents with
social/academic issues.
Case manager –
assisting elders maintain independent living; assessment and development
of service plans
Youth care workers
– residential school for adolescent males with behavioral problems
